The Transcript Alone Contains Enough to Impeach Trump

Photo Credit: Mykhaylo Markiv / The Presidential Administration of Ukraine

There is no specific quid pro quo in the rough transcript of the President's conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but you would have to be a fool not to understand Trump's meaning; he expects Zelensky to assist him in finding dirt on Joe Biden and his son. Conservative commentator David French makes the point succinctly and humorously:

French in National Review: "I haven’t been a litigator since 2015. I haven’t conducted a proper cross-examination since 2014. But if I couldn’t walk a witness, judge, and jury through the transcript of Donald Trump’s call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and demonstrate that a quid pro quo was more likely than not, then I should just hang up my suit and retire in disgrace."

Any first-year law student could establish the connection between Ukraine's military aid and the "favor" Trump is seeking. Trump's defenders are grabbing at straws when they say there is no specific quid pro quo; that's not how the law works. The question is whether a reasonable person [Zelensky] would understand that Trump expected his assistance in kneecapping Biden in exchange for further Ukrainian military aid. No reasonable person can read the transcript and not understand the pressure Trump was applying on Zelensky.

We still need to hear from the whistle-blower and see his entire complaint, but we already know from the transcript that Donald Trump abused his office in the most obscene fashion imaginable. He sought to use the power and funds of the United States to pressure a foreign government to assist him in winning reelection.

#Ukraine #impeachment #Trump #news

By: Don Lam & Curated Content